I know what you are all thinking. What do you mean by an easier version of Gulab Jamun? The easier one is to bring a packet of Gulab Jamun mix and make them. Right? Not really. What I meant when I said easy Gulab Jamun is to make it from scratch, but in an easy way. There are many recipes of Gulab Jamun - some made with khoya or solidified milk. If I have to make khoya at home, I will probably drop the idea of making the dessert itself. You see, I am not blessed with a lot of patience. So, when I saw a recipe in a book titled 'Food of India' that used milk powder to make the jamun, I jumped at it to try. I had everything the recipe called, but I tweaked a bit and made changes to the recipe. Result was so wonderful that I would never buy a pack of Gulab Jamun mix ever again.
One Year Back - Honey Cardamom Snack Cake
Two Years Back - Baklava, Eggless Pumpkin Brioche
Ingredients:
For the dough:
Non fat dry milk powder - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt - a small pinch
Ghee or butter - 2 TBSP (melted or very soft)
Milk - 3 - 4 TBSP (start with just 3 TBSP and add more as needed)
Oil for deep frying
For the syrup:
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 1/2 cups
Rose water essence or cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Method:
In a bowl, mix together dry milk powder, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt. Add ghee or butter and mix till all the ghee is incorporated. Slowly add milk to make the dough. Knead it couple of times till you can make a small ball and roll it to an almost smooth texture. Little ridges are fine. If you are having hard time making it smooth, spray a little bit of vegetable oil spray on to your hands. Or brush a bit of melted ghee to the hand to help the process. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan at medium heat.
In another pan, heat sugar and water stirring occasionally till sugar dissolves. Bring it to a full boil and turn off the heat. Add the flavorings of choice. That is cardamom powder or rose water essence. Keep the syrup warm.
Take the dough and divide it into 18 - 20 portions. It will look like very small amount, but don't worry. It will expand when fried and soaked in the syrup. Roll them as smooth as possible. To check the oil, drop a small ball. It should go down and slowly come up and start floating. If it stays at the bottom for too long, oil is not hot enough. If it floats very soon, oil is very hot. It should be fried in medium hot oil. Fry few balls at a time moving them often so they brown evenly all over. Drain well and drop them into warm syrup. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Let the Jamuns soak for at least 30 minutes before serving. Left overs need to be refrigerated. They stay fine in the refrigerator for about 5 days if it is not gone by then. Some people like it at room temperature, some cold, but I like them warm. You can always warm them for few seconds in the microwave before serving.
Enjoy.
Two Years Back - Baklava, Eggless Pumpkin Brioche
Ingredients:
For the dough:
Non fat dry milk powder - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt - a small pinch
Ghee or butter - 2 TBSP (melted or very soft)
Milk - 3 - 4 TBSP (start with just 3 TBSP and add more as needed)
Oil for deep frying
For the syrup:
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 1/2 cups
Rose water essence or cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Method:
In a bowl, mix together dry milk powder, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt. Add ghee or butter and mix till all the ghee is incorporated. Slowly add milk to make the dough. Knead it couple of times till you can make a small ball and roll it to an almost smooth texture. Little ridges are fine. If you are having hard time making it smooth, spray a little bit of vegetable oil spray on to your hands. Or brush a bit of melted ghee to the hand to help the process. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan at medium heat.
In another pan, heat sugar and water stirring occasionally till sugar dissolves. Bring it to a full boil and turn off the heat. Add the flavorings of choice. That is cardamom powder or rose water essence. Keep the syrup warm.
Take the dough and divide it into 18 - 20 portions. It will look like very small amount, but don't worry. It will expand when fried and soaked in the syrup. Roll them as smooth as possible. To check the oil, drop a small ball. It should go down and slowly come up and start floating. If it stays at the bottom for too long, oil is not hot enough. If it floats very soon, oil is very hot. It should be fried in medium hot oil. Fry few balls at a time moving them often so they brown evenly all over. Drain well and drop them into warm syrup. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Let the Jamuns soak for at least 30 minutes before serving. Left overs need to be refrigerated. They stay fine in the refrigerator for about 5 days if it is not gone by then. Some people like it at room temperature, some cold, but I like them warm. You can always warm them for few seconds in the microwave before serving.
Enjoy.
jamuns look delicious !
ReplyDeleteYou read my mind. I was thinking to make Gulab jamun this time without the mix and here I got the recipe! Made my work easier. The recipe looks very simple and I would like to make them for my kids! Thanks Champa!
ReplyDeleteI use the milk powder version of this recipe as well - it turns out perfect!
ReplyDeleteThanks I have milk powder that needs to be used up.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous presentation. Yummy jamuns of course.
ReplyDeleteVardhini
CooksJoy
My all time favorite. My mother in law always makes gulab jamuns and rasgullas with milk powder, much better than the frozen khoya available here. She even uses milk powder instead of khoya in traditional desserts like kimami sevaiyan.
ReplyDeleteYum!! My all time favorite dessert.
ReplyDeleteyummy..i will try ur version..becoz tried out many times instead of instant mix ... but i cudnt succeed.
ReplyDelete